Laval Rocket
CityLaval, Quebec
LeagueAmerican Hockey League
ConferenceEastern
DivisionNorth
Founded1969 (1969)
Home arenaPlace Bell
ColoursRed, white and blue
     
Owner(s)Molson family (majority owner)
(Geoff Molson, chairman[1])
General managerJohn Sedgwick (de facto - Assistant General Manager, Montreal Canadiens & Governor & VP of Hockey Operations & Legal Affairs, Laval Rocket)
Head coachJean-Francois Houle
CaptainGabriel Bourque
MediaEnglish:
AHL.TV (Internet)
TSN 690
French:
RDS
91.9 Sports
AffiliatesMontreal Canadiens (NHL)
Trois-Rivières Lions (ECHL)[2]
Websiterocketlaval.com
Franchise history
1969–1971Montreal Voyageurs
1971–1984Nova Scotia Voyageurs
1984–1990Sherbrooke Canadiens
1990–1999Fredericton Canadiens
1999–2002Quebec Citadelles
2002–2015Hamilton Bulldogs
2015–2017St. John's IceCaps
2017–presentLaval Rocket
Championships
Division titles1: (2020–21)
Current season

The Laval Rocket (French: Rocket de Laval) are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL) as an affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Montreal Canadiens. Based in Laval, Quebec, Canada, the Rocket play their home games at Place Bell.

The franchise was previously based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, as the St. John's IceCaps.

History

On July 11, 2016, the AHL and the Montreal Canadiens announced that they would be moving their affiliate to the Montreal suburb of Laval for the 2017–18 season.[3] A name-the-team contest was held from July 11 until August 31, with Patriots, Rapids and Rocket as the final three. On September 8, the winning Laval Rocket name was announced, a tribute to Canadiens' legend Maurice "Rocket" Richard which got a 51% majority of the fan votes.[4] The Rocket are the second hockey team in Greater Montreal to use that nickname, after the QMJHL's Montreal Rocket from 1999 until 2003. In June 2017, the franchise named Larry Carriere as general manager[5] and retained Sylvain Lefebvre as head coach, a position he held since 2012 when the franchise played as the Hamilton Bulldogs.[6]

In the 2017–18 season, Laval finished with a 24–42–7–3 record and placed last overall in the league. Lefebvre was relieved as head coach immediately upon the end of the season[7] and was replaced by Joel Bouchard, who had been serving as head coach and general manager of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the QMJHL.[8]

For the 2020–21 season, the Rocket temporarily relocated to the Bell Centre in Montreal to share the facility with their parent team during the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] The Rocket were the Canadian Division champions and second-best winning percentage in the league, while playing only the other four teams based in Canada and no postseason during the pandemic. After the season ended, head coach Bouchard left the team at the end of his contract, compiling a 83–67–24 record over three seasons,[10] to become the head coach of the San Diego Gulls.[11] The Rocket then hired Jean-François Houle as their third head coach.[12]

Team information

Logos and uniforms

Team mascot at the 2023 AHL All-Star Game.

On January 31, 2017, the Laval Rocket revealed the logo and jersey design that the team would wear during their inaugural season.[13] The colours of the Laval Rocket jersey are red, white, and blue and were chosen to mirror the colours of their parent-club, the Montreal Canadiens. As a further tribute to Maurice "Rocket" Richard, patches with the number 9 and a stylized flame appear on each of the sleeves. The stylized flame is also found below the player's number on the back of the jersey and on the back of the player's socks. Each sleeve also has a shield patch with the word Le Rocket found inside. The name of the city the Rocket play out of, Laval, is displayed on each shoulder as well as in the neck tie region of the jersey.

The main logo is a large blue 'R' that is outlined and highlighted in white. The word 'Rocket' runs along the inside of the 'R' in white. While all other logos and patches alternate colours depending on the home or away jersey, the main logo remains blue on both the red and white jerseys.

Season-by-season results

Regular season Playoffs
Season Games Won Lost OTL SOL Points PCT Goals
for		 Goals
against		 Standing Year Prelims 1st
round		 2nd
round		 3rd
round		 Finals
2017–187624427358.3822062817th, North2018Did not qualify
2018–197630346672.4741952317th, North2019Did not qualify
2019–206230245368.5481831826th, North2020Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21362393150.694113871st, Canadian2021No playoffs were held
2021–227239265285.5902462313rd, North2022BYEW, 3–2, SYRW, 3–0, ROCL, 3–4, SPR—
2022–237233297376.5282582475th, North2023L, 0–2, UTI————

Players

Current roster

Updated January 12, 2024.[14]

Team roster
No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
28 Sweden Lias Andersson C L 25 2023 Smogen, Sweden Canadiens
13 Canada Nicolas Beaudin D L 24 2022 Chateauguay, Quebec Canadiens
4 Canada Tobie Bisson (A) D L 26 2023 Rosemere, Quebec Rocket
20 Canada Gabriel Bourque (C) LW L 33 2021 Rimouski, Quebec Rocket
12 Sweden Filip Cederqvist LW L 23 2024 Skara, Sweden Canadiens
42 Canada Lucas Condotta (A) LW L 26 2022 Georgetown, Ontario Canadiens
49 Canada Jared Davidson C L 21 2023 Edmonton, Alberta Rocket
71 Czech Republic Jakub Dobes G L 22 2023 Ostrava, Czech Republic Canadiens
15 United States Sean Farrell C L 22 2023 Milton, Massachusetts Canadiens
44 Canada Olivier Galipeau D L 26 2023 Montreal, Quebec Rocket
37 Canada Brandon Gignac C L 26 2021 Repentigny, Quebec Rocket
19 Sweden Emil Heineman LW L 22 2023 Leksand, Sweden Canadiens
73 Finland Kasimir Kaskisuo G L 30 2023 Vantaa, Finland Rocket
25 Canada Brady Keeper D R 27 2023 Winnipeg, Manitoba Canadiens
21 Canada Riley Kidney C L 20 2022 Enfield, Nova Scotia Canadiens
17 Canada Nathan Legare RW R 23 2023 Montreal, Quebec Canadiens
61 Canada Philippe Maillet C L 31 2023 Montreal, Quebec Canadiens
24 Canada Logan Mailloux D R 20 2022 Belle River, Ontario Canadiens
38 United States Strauss Mann G L 25 2023 Greenwich, Connecticut Rocket
68 Canada Riley McKay LW L 24 2022 Swan River, Manitoba Rocket
14 Czech Republic Jan Mysak C L 21 2021 Litvinov, Czech Republic Canadiens
29 Sweden Mattias Norlinder D L 23 2021 Kramfors, Sweden Canadiens
10 Canada Joshua Roy LW L 20 2022 St-Georges-De-Beauce, Quebec Canadiens
81 Canada Xavier Simoneau C R 22 2023 Saint-Andre-Avellin, Quebec Canadiens
84 Canada William Trudeau D L 21 2022 Varennes, Quebec Canadiens
72 Canada Arber Xhekaj D L 22 2021 Hamilton, Ontario Canadiens

Team captains

Notable alumni

The following players have played both 100 games with Laval and 100 games in the National Hockey League:

References

    1. ↑ "Montreal Canadiens Team - Montreal Canadiens - Team: Administration". Montreal Canadiens. Retrieved February 16, 2011.
    2. ↑ "The Canadiens announce affiliation with the new ECHL Trois-Rivières club". Montreal Canadiens. January 19, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
    3. ↑ "Canadiens moving AHL affiliate to Laval in 17-18". American Hockey League. July 11, 2016. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
    4. ↑ "Laval's AHL team nickname unveiled". Montreal Canadiens. September 8, 2016. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
    5. ↑ "Canadiens name Carriere GM of AHL Laval Rocket". Sportsnet. June 29, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
    6. ↑ "LEFEBVRE NAMED HEAD COACH OF LAVAL, CARRIÈRE GM". American Hockey League. June 29, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
    7. ↑ "SYLVAIN LEFEBVRE RELIEVED OF HIS DUTIES AS HEAD COACH OF THE LAVAL ROCKET". Laval Rocket. April 17, 2018. Archived from the original on April 18, 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
    8. ↑ Cowan, Stu (May 17, 2018). "Montreal Canadiens name Joël Bouchard head coach of AHL's Laval Rocket". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
    9. ↑ "THE LAVAL ROCKET TO PLAY ITS HOME GAMES AT THE BELL CENTRE FOR THE 2020-21 SEASON". Laval Rocket. January 6, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
    10. ↑ "Joël Bouchard quitte le Rocket de Laval". Le Journal de Montréal (in French). July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
    11. ↑ "Anaheim Ducks Name Joel Bouchard San Diego Gulls Head Coach". OurSports Central. July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
    12. ↑ "Jean-François Houle Appointed Head Coach of the Laval Rocket". OurSports Central. July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
    13. ↑ "Logo and uniform reveal of the Laval Rocket - Rocket de Laval". Laval Rocket. January 31, 2017. Archived from the original on May 22, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
    14. ↑ "Team – Rocket Laval". Laval Rocket. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.